Following their recent announcement, 888 Holdings and Sports Illustrated are set to launch their first sportsbook in Colorado in time for the start of the NFL football season. The partners have also indicated that they will soon launch sport betting products in three additional states.
The partnership, announced in June of this year, will see Sports Illustrated preview sporting events on its website with betting odds and free-to-play betting games. The new sportsbook will be called SI Sportsbook and the hope is that both the app and website will be ready for launch in time for the NFL opening game on September 9th.
Speaking at the time of the announcement, Itai Pazner, CEO, 888 said:
“We are delighted to announce this strategic partnership, enabling us to accelerate our investment into the U.S., which represents one of the most exciting long-term growth opportunities for our company. Sports Illustrated is an iconic sports media brand, with high awareness and consumer loyalty.
This agreement provides us access to millions of engaged sports fans across the U.S., giving us a high-volume and cost-effective customer acquisition channel, and great content to engage sports fans. We are excited about the potential to deliver our cutting-edge, proprietary sportsbook platform into the market, providing Sports Illustrated fans with a first-class betting and gaming experience.”
Jamie Salter, Founder, Chairman and CEO, ABG then added:
“We are thrilled to announce that Sports Illustrated is entering the online sports betting and iGaming space. Sports wagering represents a large and high-growth market, allowing us to diversify the brand’s revenue streams and engage directly with our sports consumers, broadening the reach of the brand. 888 is one of the leaders in online betting and gaming globally and has outstanding technology, products and marketing capabilities, and we are excited to partner with them to offer an innovative product experience for sports fans.”
The Colorado launch begins a new phase for Sports Illustrated as the company tries to recover from a decline in subscriptions in recent years and the laying off of over 25% of its workforce between 2018 and 2020.
Once SI Sportsbook launches in Colorado, the partners will begin to focus their efforts of launches in Indiana, Iowa, and New Jersey.
Olivia has worked as an editor and writer for major brands across multiple niches. She now focuses on the iGaming and sports betting industries.